With Captain Marvel about to make history as Marvel Studios’ first film headlined by a solo female superhero, many fans are wondering how the upcoming Black Widow spinoff will shape the MCU’s future. The story of a highly trained KGB assassin would be the perfect opportunity for Marvel’s first R-rated movie. However, Kevin Feige put that opportunity on ice. While speaking to ComicBook.com, Feige dispelled any reports that Black Widow will be the first MCU film to earn an R-rating.
“It never was going to be,” said Feige. “Somebody writes, ‘I hear it’s R-rated!’ And then everybody writes it up.”
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Black Widow is rumored to be a prequel set before Natasha Romanoff joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. Natasha Romanoff’s past has been teased in a few of her previous appearances. During her conversation with Loki in The Avengers, we learned that Natasha used her “very specific skill set” on anyone who crossed her. Loki even ran down a brief list of her most heinous crimes. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Natasha was forced to relive her time in the Red Room, which ended with her forced sterilization. The Agent Carter series shed more light on the facility’s austere methods, which included handcuffing its students to their beds. Clearly, Natasha’s backstory isn’t a family friendly one. Regardless, it looks like Marvel is choosing to present it within the confines of a PG-13 framework.
Despite Feige’s comments, Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated an openness to other R-rated Marvel films down the line. Back in December, Iger said that “as long as we let the audiences know what’s coming, we think we can manage that fine.”
Do you think Black Widow can succeed without an R-rating? Give us your impressions in the comment section below!
